Creamy Homemade Body Lotion

Like me, I am sure you have been searching for a great natural and organic body lotion…for probably forever! Don’t get me wrong they have a lot of great organic brands out there but I have always wanted to make my own. It’s cheaper too right! Well originally this recipe started out as a face cream and I just can’t stop using it for my entire body. The recipe makes a pretty big batch so it lasts quite a while. It is fairly inexpensive and with the amount you make you wont feel guilty using it as a lotion. Also, the best part is you can use a pump bottle so you don’t have to dip your hands in a jar every time. If that isn’t enticing enough I don’t know what is. This Moisturizing lotion can be great for most skin types. It is made with Grapeseed oil, Almond Oil, Coconut Oil, Shea Butter, Bees wax, Aloe Vera Gel, Water, Calendula, and Lavender Essential oils all which are excellent for your skin. I can almost bet it has some healing powers especially with the calendula and lavender oils. Call me crazy but the first time I made this I couldn’t stop putting it on. It absorbs really well but I cant even explain how soothing and refreshing it feels on your skin. Need I mention soothing again? 🙂

I was afraid it would be really oily after putting it on but to my surprise it absorbs quickly. The oils I used are quicker to absorb than some other oils out there. I encourage you to make this and try it out for your self. I don’t think I could ever go back to buying lotion after this 🙂

Homemade Body Lotion

Melt the Bee’s wax, Shea butter, Grape-seed Oil, Coconut Oil, and Almond Oil in a small pot. I used my mini crockpot but if you do

end up doing this over the stove make sure to fill up the pot half full with water. Place ingredients in a jar, then place the jar

inside the water (without getting any water in the jar of course). This will prevent the heat from destroying the properties

of the oils, shea butter, and bee’s wax.

Pour mixture in a glass container (if it isn’t already in one) Then place this in the fridge overnight to cool

Scoop oil mixture in a medium to large mixing bowl. In a separate small bowl combine Distilled Water, Aloe Vera gel and

Essential Oils. Using a whisk or mixer, start to whip the oil mixture. Slowly add in about 1/4 cup of water/aloe until

it blends/emulsifies with the oil mixture, continue this process until you reach your desired consistency.

Lightly pour in 1/4 cup of water mixture at a time and allow it to blend/emulsify with oil mixture, continue to add water mixture until you reach desired consistency (you may not end up using the entire thing)

I don’t use any Optiphen in my recipes. I try to keep things as natural as possible and use the least amount of ingredients. The shelf life of this is about 6 months if stored correctly and with the amount the recipe makes, it’s usually gone before it goes bad. 🙂 Hope that helps. Thank you for the comment and suggestion!!

Dear Nessa , what is the texture of this lotion..is it oily… does it get absorbed in to skin well…?
How much did it cost you to make one recipe of this lotion?
I am looking for a light , non greasy lotion recipe….

Jane, sorry for the late response! The lotion isn’t really oil. It’s a creamy lotion and once you put it on your skin looks wet for a little while. It absorbs very quickly and leaves your skin extremely soft. As far as cost goes, It wouldn’t be anymore than a couple dollars. Its hard to give an exact number since you use small quantities of each item. Hope that helps. Best wishes.

Hello Nessa,
I’ve been searching high and low for a non greasy, light lotion recipe, as I live in a very hot & humid climate, with no success. Yours looks like it would be worth another attempt, but I could use some help with the aloe gel. I have not been able to find aloe that doesn’t have carrageenan, xanathan gum, or the like in it. I’d be most grateful if you could recommend a brand that is not only organic, but pure (free of chemicals/preservatives ( what do you use?). Too, is the ingredient that makes the lotion green one of the oils? At first I thought it was the aloe, but the “meat” of natural aloe is clear.
Thanks!

Hi Summr, I would recommend this lotion as it isn’t as greasy as most and since it absorbs so quickly the greasy feeling goes away. As far as aloe Vera gel, the one I use is clear. My lotion was green due to the cold pressed grape seed oil I used being green. I order my Aloe online from azure standard but I’m sure you can find it elsewhere. Here is the link. https://www.azurestandard.com/shop/product/2522//
It’s from Real Aloe co. And they do not add any preservatives. It holds up for quite a long time too as long as you Keep it in the fridge. Hope that helps!

Best.Lotion.Ever. I’ve made a lot of home made lotions, and this one is my new favorite! I’ve never been able to get that creamy, thick but non greasy, easily absorbed and “pumpable” until I tried your recipe! Thank you- it’s a game changer!

I wouldn’t say you need to use the emulsifying wax. If you prefer not to use the bees wax then you may be able to substitute it for the emulsifying wax. I’m just not sure whether or not the same quantities would yield the same result. I would love to know how it works out if you do try it though. Thanks.

Do you think it would be possible if I used magnesium oil in place of just water or would it change the consistency? I have to say that I love this lotion as it is, but I’m seriously magnesium deficient and was hoping it might work (can’t tolerate oral supplements).. It’s not too greasy and goes on so smooth. Body butters tend to be too thick for me to absorb. Great recipe! Thanks.

I haven’t tried it with magnesium oil but I wouldn’t recommend substituting the water with an oil. The consistency will likely be different. If you do choose to try adding the oil to the recipe you may be able to substitute it for one of the other oils used. Best wishes!

Generally I would recommend that you let all of the beeswax melt enough for it to mix. Straining it out could end up being a huge headache and would likely clog up your strainer. If there are only a couple little pieces floating around you may be able to get them out with a spoon. Hope that helps.

I want to make this recipe with what i have on hand. It makes such a large amount though that I was hoping for an opinion on substitutions first. I have avocado oil but don’t any grapeseed oil. Do you think that would substitute well? Also, I don’t have any calendula oil (and there are arguments that a true calendula essential oil doesn’t exist), but I do have calendula infused olive oil. Do you think I could use that as the olive oil and get the same effect? The link above for the aloe vera was for aloe Vera juice and not gel but i found their gel. It is definitely not pure and neither is the bottle I have here. Do you think if I took the gel straight from my aloe Vera plant that it would work or are the preservatives in the bottled stuff necessary (they all have preservatives including the one you linked to)?

You should be able to substitute the avocado oil for the grape seed without any issues. You can omit the calendula oil and use another essential oil if desired. The lotion works great even without any essential oils. The calendula infused olive oil would actually be a great addition and yes you should be able to substitute the regular olive oil for that. I don’t think I linked any aloe vera juice in the post but there are plenty of preservative free aloe vera juices that you can purchase at natural stores or online. A lot of them you need to refrigerate but you don’t need to refrigerate the lotion. I would recommend seeking out the pure aloe vera juice (which I should mention has the gel in it as well), or you can indeed use the gel right from the aloe plant, that may even be a better option. Hope that helps. If you have any other questions I would be happy to help. Thanks!

Can I sub something else for the grape seed oil or just use more almond oil? I don’t have grapeseed oil but do have jojoba oil and sweet almond oil.
Also, do you use fractionated coconut oil for this recipe?

Yes you can definitely sub out oils, the consistency may be a little different but it shouldn’t change it too much. I personally prefer to use unrefined coconut oil. The fractionated coconut oils are just refined and may have lost some of it’s benefits through the process.

About Nessa

Hi Everyone I'm Venessa or Nessa for short. I live this crazy but super exciting life filled with finding ways to live a healthier and more natural lifestyle... all while being a wife, mother, real estate agent, and blogger. hey, anything is possible! read more

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